Parkway Drive: Horizons

The World-Famous Doug expressed his concerns about this album being too-breakdown-heavy for my taste. By “breakdown-heavy”, did he mean that it was too heavy by way of breakdowns, or was he talking about the overall number of breakdowns?

I guess it doesn’t matter all that much.

Everyone (who reads this site and/or knows me personally) already realizes that I’m not a fan of the “severely slow the previously-kickass pace of the song with austere, drop-D chugga-chugga simply because it’s an accepted–if not expected–phenomenon of the genre” bullshit also known as “the breakdown”. It’s true. I hate breakdowns.

That said: This release kicks ass.

The first real track (y’know… the one after the throwaway intro) features one hell of a gut-punching breakdown. Maybe it’s the thick production. More so, IMHO, it’s the deftness of placement. “Does it make you feel beautiful?” Why, yes Mister Breakdown Man… it does make me feel beautiful… also evil as fuck.

I really have no idea how this band’s employment of the breakdown is able to pierce my previously-impenetrable wall of hatred.

I suppose the only thing left to say is: This album is so good that even the breakdowns fit.

As far as I’m concerned, these Aussie boys are the only band to achieve this monumental task in the last, say, ten years.